Oak Creek Canyon & Sedona, AZ

We wanted to visit Sedona before we left, and in my infinite wisdom decided to go North on I-17 to 89-A and go down Oak Creek Canyon.  It was a nice sunny day, but as we drove North we started to see snow on the side of the road.  And the temperature outside was a warm 42 degrees.  I guess we’re a little early this year.

We made it to the 89-A junction and started down from about 7000 ft. attitude down to 3500 ft. at Sedona following Oak Creek.  It wasn’t as pretty as it could have been because all of the oak trees haven’t leafed out yet.  But the Ponderosa Pines were a stark contrast.  And with all of the snow the creek was flowing very fast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s hard to believe that that creek created this beautiful canyon and all of the red rock serrations.  It was a twisty road but it had beautiful views, and the closer we got to Sedona the more red rocks we saw.The town of Sedona is mostly art galleries, tourist shops, restaurants, and new age shops.  But they’re still interesting to browse.  We had a forgettable lunch at Orchards Inn.  You would think a restaurant with that name would serve fresh foods and salads, not burgers and mexican food.

All of the rock outcroppings have names, and the one I liked was Snoopy. You can see Snoopy lying on top of his doghouse in the center of the picture.  Can’t you??

We enjoyed our time in the canyon and plan to come back here later in the year to enjoy the oak trees in full bloom.  There’s some great hiking trails along the creek when my hip gets better.

We did get one great picture of the four of us. We’ve really enjoyed out time with Bob & Maggie and we’re going to miss them when they head back home to Washington.